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Now it's a brisk walk through the crowded Calle Larga de l'Ascension, past the high-end fashion shops to the busy Ponte Tron o della Piavola. This stone bridge was named after the aristocratic Tron family who lived in the area before the Orseolo Basin, an open stretch of water that functions as a sort of parking lot for gondolas, was developed in the mid-1800s.

After weaving through the tourists crossing the Ponte Tron we swung back onto the Ponte del Cavalletto, a stone bridge with iron railings just outside Piazza San Marco.

From the top of the Cavalletto bridge we had a nice view of the Orseolo Basin, and for a while we stood and watched the gondoliers lounging on their boats or going about their daily tasks.

Gondoliering is traditionally a men's club - it was only recently that the first female gondolier joined the exclusively male club. We had crossed one hundred bridges by the end of the day but she was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it was her day off.

1 comment:

I saw the female gondolier at the station near the Accademia bridge a couple of months ago. I also saw the other one who has not gained her licence, walking near La Fenice in her own version of the gondolier's uniform. I must dig the photo out and put it on my blog.